"...That's a matter for changing tastes, also. Our modern taste tends to run for the open and spacious, while the taste in the 19teens - whatever you term the era - was turning towards a cosier, more intimate environment in interior design. Therefore, what you got on Titanic reflected this..."
I wasn't speaking merely of my own taste but from an understanding and appreciation of the influences in interior decoration of the time.
While there was a gathering trend in Edwardian days toward Jacobean and other English period styles (which figured into Titanic's design), the prevailing fashion was for the "Old French Look," as espoused by stylist Elsie de Wolfe and other leading taste-makers of the era. Whether the specific mood was Louis Seize or Directoire or Empire, the basic character was nonetheless French neo-classical.
Therefore, my statement in praise of Lusitania's interiors isn't just my opinion but would have been the opinion of many style-conscious contemporary travelers.
My thought is that Titanic's designers were hoping to set it apart from its competition, the regal Cunard, and so seized upon a more traditional, less formal look by fusing period styles together in a sort of care-free, homey way. One see this, for instance, in the placing of dark English furniture and fixtures against white-painted "French look" paneling and ceilings (i.e., the dining room), a decision that isn't at all in bad taste. But, as an evocation of a pure period style, it isn't authentic in its arrangement and overall expression.
By contrast, Lusitania's designers were very careful about producing a "total" look in their scheme of period decoration, especially in their treatment of the pervasive French taste. Almost everything was accurately replicated - even down to small accents and details, such as the fine gilt trim, the luxurious plaster work, the Boucher-inspired ceiling art in the dining room, the cameo insets in the paneling in the first-class suites, etc.
The difference between the interiors on Lusitania and Titanic can almost be identified in terms of gender. The Titanic gave that warm, hearty feeling of an English country house or a private gentleman's club in London, with its delightful hodge-podge of furnishings and fixtures; Titanic was essentially a man's realm.
But aboard Lusitania, the soft, gracious mood of a ladies' music parlor or boudoir was set, with its airy lightness and delicate detailing. The decor was completely feminine and primarily Parisian in tone; she was like a floating Maxim's.
Style wise, you might say Titanic was lord to Lusitania's lady. Neither was "better" than the other, perhaps, but a lady always come first!
